Nine students held a supply drive for Can Do Canines and volunteered their time at the organization’s assistance dog graduation ceremony earlier this quarter.

“The students learned a lot,” Berger said. “They knew that service dogs existed, but did not realize how many different types of service dogs there are.”

Students helped with several facets of the graduation ceremony including volunteer coordination, set-up and breakdown, hosting and greeting. Sharing in the success of the graduates and those receiving help was a moving experience for all involved.

“The students became very emotional hearing the success stories,” Berger said. “The stories of the autistic children definitely struck a chord.”

Can Do Canines also received much-needed supplies as a result of a supply drive put on by the class.

“Once the students learned more about the organization they truly felt it was a worthwhile cause and became very passionate about the organization,” Berger said.

The cost of training assistance dogs can cost up to $25,000 over their lifetime, but are provided at no cost for the recipients. The puppies are raised and trained for 15 months to perform service work in a variety of areas of need, including:

Mobility Assistance These dogs are trained to help people with physical abilities with everyday tasks.

Diabetes Assistance The dogs work with people that have Type I Diabetes. They alert their owner when their blood sugar is low or rapidly falling by detecting a scent that is given off by humans.

Autism Assistance Dogs work with children ages two to seven to calm them and protect them in public.

Hearing Assistance The dogs are trained to lead people to sounds such as a doorbell, phone or alarm.

Seizure Assistance Seizure assist dogs are there during and after their owner has a seizure by getting help or bringing a phone.